What's in Store

Dieline.com  recently featured the package redesign of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese  and it caught my attention because it was a successful refresh of an iconic brand in the wake of so many missteps by large companies with their rebrands of late. Remember all the negative stir the Tropicana orange juice box and Gap logo redesigns caused? Why did this rebrand work and the others not? It's very important when dealing with iconic brands with so much built-in recognition not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. Keep the elements that are working and still service the brand, and update/refresh the ones that don't. Seems simple, but as we've seen, tough to execute. You can see by the photos above that the old package is looking rather dated, but since it's been around so long consumers are used to seeing this box and a radical redesign would probably confuse and disorient them on the shelves (a la Tropicana). The designers wisely kept the blue gradient background, ke...

We are currently working on a project for a display and our vendor introduced us to the process of 3D printing for the prototype. The prototype process, no matter if we are working on a package with a clam shell or a rigid display, is always long and not always accurate. The old way of doing things required wax molds and a person shaping the prototype based on the cad drawing. With the 3D printing process, the cad drawings are read by the machine that creates the prototype by building up layers of material similar to paper. It really has to be seen to be believed. Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7h09dTVkdw This is only our first project using this process, and so far it has been great. The only stumbling block is the prototype material is very different from the final manufactured piece. However, once it is painted and photographed, you can't tell the difference. Patty Jensen